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Volvo wins Car Technology Brand of the Year award

Volvo’s latest technology innovations have not gone unnoticed. Through them, the automaker was named Car Technology Brand of the Year for the second year running. The Volvo XC60 was awarded Best Safety Technology for its Steering Support system, Best Navigation, and Best Safest Car due to its exceptional Euro NCAP safety rating.

The Car Tech Awards honours manufactures with the best in-car technology launched over the year. The Winner of each category is chosen by a jury of experts from buyer’s guide Carbuyer and technology website Alphr. It should come as no surprise that cars like the XC60 are lavished with such praise when safety is the criteria.

It is fitted with Volvo’s Steering Support technology that automatically provides steering assistance to drivers during an emergency to help avoid a potential collision. Working in tandem with its city stop function, the car will be able to decrease the risk of avoidable collisions or accidents significantly.

Speaking of the award, Stuart Milne, Editor of Carbuyer, said, “Volvo’s success in the Car Tech Awards is remarkable. The company scooped Car Technology Brand of the Year for the second year in succession.”

“Our judges were impressed by the way Volvo refuses to rest on its laurels, developing a series of products and philosophies that build on its Vision 2020, that no one will be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo by 2020,” he added.

Volvo’s XC60 almost scored full marks in its Euro NCAP crash test results. It received a 98% rating adult occupant protection and 95% for its safety assistance features. Adding to that, its intuitive and easy to use navigation system as well as a number of other features have made it the complete package.

Alfa Romeo set to return to F1 in 2018

If you thought that the Honda and McLaren Fiasco would be the only thing to look forward to in the 2018 Formula One season, you would be sadly mistaken. Alfa Romeo has just announced its return to the sport after a 30 year hiatus.

It will be joining forces with the fourth oldest team in F1 history, Sauber. The existing team will be officially renamed next season to Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team. According to an article by Petrolicious, this newly forged partnership will give Sauber access to Alfa’s engineering and technical know-how – a treasure trove of knowledge.

In case you didn’t know, Alfa Romeo is owned by Fiat Chrysler Automotive or FCA, and the same is true with Ferrari. This means that next year’s Sauber will be powered by a Ferrari engine, and won’t be a relic either, instead the team will have power units with 2018 specs.

Alfa Romeo was a pioneer of competitive racing during the early days of the automobile. It was involved in Motorsport very early in the company’s history. In fact, it allowed for an environment where young drivers were able to prove what they were made of, including Enzo Ferrari.

Over the years, Sauber has partnered with a number of teams including BMW. But none of them will offer the same prestige as teaming up with the likes of Alfa Romeo. Despite Sauber being a very capable team with an equally good car, they were never really able to keep up with the charging pack.

There was the odd occasion or two, where the team’s brilliance would dominate the TV screens, but these instances were few and far in between. This is partly due to the fact that Sauber never received the required financial backing or technical know-how to take on the factory back teams.

Now however, with Ferrari power, that should change and allow it to take on the front runners like Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari itself. The upcoming 2018 Formula One season is going to be an absolute sizzler. Defending champion Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes-Benz are going to have some stiff competition next year.

Source: Petrolicious

New Phantom declared Luxury Car of the Year

The eighth generation Rolls-Royce Phantom is the epitome of automotive luxury. Despite looking similar to its predecessor, which was launched in 2003, the new car comes with updated technology and an interior filled with spectacular opulence.

If you would like to know about the new Phantom, CLICK HERE. The car has been recognized by several well-known automotive publications as well as the world’s most prestigious and discerning critics.

Several of them lavished praise on the Phantom by saying: “Is the pinnacle, the epitome, of motoring luxury” (Autocar), “Is an all-new version of the finest car in the world” (The Independent), “Utterly defines luxury” (PistonHeads) and “Has changed what a car can be” (GQ).

BBC Top Gear Magazine has awarded the car the coveted ‘Luxury Car of the Year’ award just weeks after its global media launch on the banks of Lake Lucerne in Vitznau, Switzerland. The Phantom nameplate, is the oldest in automotive history and is said to portray Rolls-Royce’s tireless pursuit of perfection.

Speaking of the latest accolade, Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, commented, “Phantom points the way forward for the global luxury industry. It is a creation of great beauty and power, a dominant symbol of wealth and human achievement.”

He added, “That this is recognized by Top Gear Magazine and the rest of the world’s media is deeply gratifying and a reflection of the skill and passion of everyone who created this truly unique example of pinnacle luxury.”

The car is built on an all-new and proprietary aluminium spaceframe, 6mm two-layer glazing. It has more than 130kg of soundproofing, that combined with the whisper quiet V12 engine and seamless shifting gearbox, make the Phantom the most silent motor car in the world.

Jaguar crushes Nurburgring record with Project 8

The Nürburgring lap times seem to be the yardstick to which automotive greatness is measured. Automakers’ bring their latest and greatest creations to what’s regarded as one of the most challenging tracks on earth, just to prove how quick they are. And breaking the lap record, allows you the proper bragging rights.

In the case of Jaguar, its business as usual. This time, the British automaker placed its hardcore track focused XE, named the XE SV Project 8, to lap the Ring in the shortest time possible. This nearly 600bhp car completed the 21km circuit in 7 minutes and 21.23 seconds making it the fastest four-door vehicle to get around the track.

John Edwards, Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations Managing Director, said, “SVO exists to push the boundaries of performance, luxury and all-terrain capability. The hand-assembled XE SV Project 8 takes that principle to the limit, extracting supercar-beating performance from Jaguar’s most compact four-door sedan.”

“The Nürburgring Nordschleife record underlines our commitment to deliver the most extreme Jaguar ever to Project 8 clients, who will soon experience this sensational sedan for themselves,” he added.

It was nearly 11 seconds quicker than the previous record holder, and faster still, than some sports and supercars. Despite it looking very similar to the standard XE, Jaguar is adamant that 75% of Project 8’s mechanicals are new and that only the roof and front doors have been carried over.

The company’s SVO design and engineering team have worked their magic by turning a regular executive sedan into a fire breathing monster. Despite what many might say, making a sedan as fast as a sports car is no easy feat, it require re-engineering and extensive mechanical changes.

Unlike the base XE, this particular car gets a massive rear wing and other aerodynamic upgrades that set it apart from the rest of the Jaguar stable. It is powered by a supercharged 5.0-litre V8 that enables the car to sprint from 0-100km/h in a mere 3.3 seconds and reach a top speed of 322km/h.

This won’t be the end of the story though, because Jag’s achievement won’t sit well with its competitors. They are probably already trying to figure out how to best the British automaker in the shortest amount of time possible.

Keyless entry systems aren’t as safe as you might think

The ‘In’ thing these days in terms of vehicle features has to be keyless entry. This is a term used to describe the ability to get into a vehicle without the need for a key or its remote unlocking capability. Instead, a signal is transmitted from the remote key to the car’s locking system when it is in close proximity, which prompts it to unblock the doors the moment you tug on the door handle.

Though this tech makes it convenient and easier to get into a car, there is a caveat. In the presence of an experienced and tech savvy car thief, it can be manipulated to allow access to just about anybody. A news report was published by the BBC, in which CCTV footage showed that a couple of car thieves were able to unlock a white car without the need for its key.

The ‘transmitter relay’ attack seen in the footage exploits a vulnerability in a vehicle’s keyless entry system. These criminals were able to capture the signal from the remote key inside the house, replicate then relay it to the vehicle. As mentioned earlier, keyless remote fobs differ greatly from a regular remote fob, in that, it is constantly transmitting a signal to its intended car.

Richard Billyeald, chief technical officer at Thatcham Research comments, “Keyless entry systems on cars offer convenience to drivers, but can in some situations be exploited by criminals. Concerned drivers should contact their dealer for information and guidance, and follow our simple security steps.”

Bear in mind that the technology isn’t as easy to crack as the movies may have you believe. That said, Thatcham Research recommends that you do the following to make your keyless experience a little less worrisome.

Contact your dealer and talk about the digital features in your car. Have there been any software updates you can take advantage of?
Check if your keyless entry fob can be turned off. If it can, and your dealer can also confirm this, then do so overnight.
Store your keys away from household entry points. Keeping your keyless entry fob out of sight is not enough – thieves only need to gain proximity to the key to amplify the signal.
Be vigilant. Keep an eye out for suspicious activity in your neighbourhood – and report anything unusual to the Police.
Review your car security. Check for aftermarket security devices such as mechanical locks and trackers, which are proven to deter thieves.

Regardless of how secure a security system claims to be, there is still the odd chance that someone somewhere, has managed to exploit a vulnerability that can compromise its usefulness. It’s an extremely unlikely scenario, but it pays to be vigilant and exercise caution when accessing your vehicle.

Spyker C8 Spyder is a pleasantly bizarre car

Doug DeMuro, an avid car journalist and Youtuber, has a penchant for reviewing some of the most interesting vehicles in existence, and this time is no different. Spyker, is a Dutch car maker that specializes in building elegantly bizarre vehicles that stirs the imagination. And the Spyker C8 Spyder is that kind of car.

Everything from the four spoke steering wheel to the needlessly complicated metal-bar styled gear shifter, screams attention. It seems as though the automaker commissioned a 9-year-old to cherry pick the design elements, then made the engineers work against their will to make the vehicle a reality.

Its a sports car in every sense of the word and one that is as exotic as they come. It is powered by an Audi sourced 4.2-litre V8 engine that produces close to 400bhp. The car of its namesake but with a T in its nomenclature, features a turbocharged version of this engine that produces 525bhp. Then, the C8 Double 12S, based on the racing car,it produces a mental 620bhp.

The C8 weighs a mere 1250kg and is capable of exceptional performance. And at 4185mm long and 1880mm wide, it isn’t exactly as large as the competition in its group. Spyker has taken it racing in competitions like the 12 Hours of Sebring, 24 Hours Le Mans, FIA GT and GT2 as well as a number of others.

If you don’t have the means to own the car in real life, perhaps enjoying it in the virtual world will offer some consolation. Several iterations of the C8 have been made available in a number of games that include Forza Motorsport 4, Project Gotham Racing 3 and Gran Turismo 6, just to name a few.

Check out the video and let us know what you think of it and whether Spyker should continue to produce more of such vehicles in the new future.